Message from the CEO

Hey everyone, back again with an extra update this week (you’ll still be getting my end of the week status update). For today, we have a message direct from our CEO at Kaleidoscope regarding some of the issues that have been going on as of late. Without further ado, here is the message.

From the CEO:

You’re angry. So are we. We trusted a technology team to resolve your issues, we were guaranteed that they were being handled, and we were handed a time-bomb. When we finally discovered what was going on we were appalled. Community members’ tickets weren’t even being looked at. They were being ignored. Completely. By people we trusted.
We’ve let them go. All of them. Some of them may not have been at fault, but we simply couldn’t waste any more time- for you or for us- in getting things completed and resolved.
We hired Alex as the “voice of the Community.” He’s not just the Community Manager- he’s your advocate, your voice, your defender, and he’s here to hold us to a VERY high standard. Things here haven’t been what you were told they would be for a long time. We’ve come in and, as we’ve discovered challenges, have tackled them. OP may seem like a simple concept to you. Unfortunately, it’s an incredibly intricate, sensitive, ecosystem which was designed as it grew. It wasn’t designed to “industrial standards”…not through malicious intent, but simply because no one envisioned it’s incredible popularity and meteoric growth.
We serve far more “free” members than we serve “Ascendant” members. But we are equally committed to each group receiving a tremendous experience and tremendous value.
We have taken a number of actions to make OP the destination it was envisioned to be. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be some hard challenges ahead. We have identified a new technology support team. We have engaged a council of experienced members of the OP community to help us guide our development and chart our path. And we have committed to making OP the community that it deserves to be.
I thank you for your patience, your forbearance, and your candor. I hear you clearly. Mediocrity won’t be accepted any longer. We can, and will fix this, and with your help we will do so.
It will take longer than you want. It will take longer than we want. But it will be done. Period. Know that Alex is not the person at whom you should be directing any displeasure. Know that he is truly your pipeline to the Company owners. And we hear you. And we hear him. Please remain patient a while longer and let’s see what we can do by working together to make OP a world-class gaming community.
Sincerely,

Keith
CEO Kaleidoscope
—

And that is it for today, a bit more of a peek behind the proverbial curtain as it were. As always I will be here to address any questions, suggestions, or concerns that you might have so do not hesitate to reach out to me!
Until next time, keep on gaming!
–Alex

16 comments:

I’m surprised to see this, honestly. But not pleasantly surprised.

I’m appalled simply by reading the first two paragraphs.

Normally I take up position advocating cooler heads and seeing issues from all sides. I try to encourage people to be patient, and to in turn take the time to do things correctly. But when I read the CEO of a company blanket fires everybody working on a project, rather than take the time to figure out who was at fault or not, I cannot find the words to describe my ire, such is the raw emotion coursing through me.

Furthermore, while I’m being direct, this message is loaded with all of the same promises we’ve been told before, and echoes the exact same sentiments several members of the community (myself included) have stated in the recent past. What’s more, the majority of this piece just sounds contextually as though it was meant to be released the day Jerry was “let go” and Alex was instated, as opposed to being released now, a mere two days shy of 1 month into Alex’s tenure.

I have no doubt that there were problems. I have no doubt that not everybody was doing the jobs they were given, and changes needed to happen. I agree that we, the OP community, have been given the run around and that we deserve better than we have received. But this?

This is superfluous. This is pandering. This assumes an intelligence of the user base that is borderline offensive. And quite frankly, this is pathetic. If anything, this shouldn’t have even been posted to begin with, because now we know just how out-of-touch the new “Corporate Overlords” have been all this time.

Sorry I see this differently. You have right to be angry. I am angry. No one in their right mind who has paid for this service could be anything but angry. But now what? Direct your anger at someone?

Let us be honest who should we be angry with?
1. Micah and company – honestly they sold us a pile of shit. OP is built on a fragile design that was hacked together. It is apparent that they were way over their heads and they were to arrogant to admit it.

2. Keith and company – They did not do as good a job assessing the steaming pile before jumping in. If they had then we might have found OP shutting down. That would have sucked but it would be over with.

3. OURSELVES – At some point we should have just left because we all knew – at least 12 months ago, probably longer, this was a steaming pile.

Ok now that we are done directing our anger did that do any good? NAH. Anger is an emotion that rarely accomplishes anything.

IMO: Keith provided us all with a very transparent view as to what is going on. Creating software is often compared to making sausage. If you like sausage but you are squeamish don’t learn how sausage is made.

If you read my post on my Nerd Cred you will see I have been doing this for 30 years.

Here is what I am doing. If I don’t see real progress – fixes to outstanding trouble reports and Forge features being rolled out – by the end of the year I will find something else to solve my campaign documentation problems. In fact if I don’t see something by Nov. I will start preparing for my departure.

Honestly blues, it is time I did direct my anger at someone. Go read the forums and you can see I try to avoid this sort of behavior, but as I said in my original post, this article just reeks of being yet another attempt to placate, with no real transparency. We’ve heard it all before (at least, those of us active on the forums have). As Justin Andrew Mason says below, “Trust us” isn’t good enough anymore.

You say that it isn’t going to do any good to direct our anger, and even go so far as to suggest placing the blame ourselves, even if only in part. Well, as someone who backed for a lifetime subscription, I want nothing more than for this site to work out. “In for a penny, in for a pound.” Why should I, or anyone else for that matter, just up and leave when we have invested in this site as well?

And as for most of the rest of your post, again I say that we as users have said the same before on the forums, and I have even explicitly said some of what you are saying now.

So I reiterate from before, this blog post was better off not happening at all, as it not only doesn’t actually address anything that hasn’t already been said before, but it’s also simply (possibly incredibly) too late coming.

I don’t know that I agree with the general tone of Keith’s statement, but in essence I agree with the sentiment. Assuming control of a runaway train is bound to be a difficult and messy task. I don’t envy the quagmire that Kaleidoscope has chosen to take to task, and as a software engineer, I don’t even want to try and imagine the workload your team has inherited. That being said, however – it is a challenge you have chosen to confront. As the alternative would surely mean the demise of Obsidian Portal, I’m very thankful for your decision to do so.

As a long-time user (8-years now), a paying member and KS-backer, vocal fan and supporter, and continuous advocate for the service, I hope you will hear me out. Take a moment to really listen to the Obsidian Portal community at large. We are all already aware of the tremendous challenge set before you – we have been dealing with it for years – yet here we are, still steadfast despite all the broken promises and failed attempts. We are your closest most dependable ally in this effort. Take care not to shunt us to the side.

The past failure at Obsidian Portal has not been one of fault or lack of effort. It has literally been a matter of a service being choked out by its own success. The site was born as a labor of love, the platform was built as the community grew. The moment that the service went from being a passion to being a commitment to investors, things started to fall apart. It is to the idea of that labor of love – that passion for gaming – that many of us have struggled for and continue to invest our hope into here.

The “Reforging” is the sole event leading us to where we are today, and it remains the preverbal 400-pound gorilla in the room. However, despite being the most visible icon of the problems Obsidian Portal has experienced the last few years, it is not the most destructive element in play here. The real dividing force is what remains unseen. A shadow of ambiguity that has been cast over the community for years; one that becomes more and more stifling to the community torchbearers.

I commend Jerry for his efforts these past few years, he truly did an amazing job of trying to maintain enthusiasm amidst and seemingly impossible situation, and I’m sure that carried a hefty toll. We understood his plight, and I think most of us recognized the unfortunate position he found himself in as the essential public face of Obsidian Portal. I don’t know many who could have endured the way he did given the situation, but I think all of us in the community could see that the stagnation of the situation continued to dampen even his enthusiasm as time passed.

I can’t express how excited I am to see a level of renewed enthusiasm that you’re bringing to Obsidian Portal, Alex. It’s an opportunity for renewed faith in the community, and one that I hope Kaleidoscope intends on seizing and building upon.

I don’t attest to speak for anyone other than myself, but I feel fairly confident that the Obsidian Portal community at large has had it with the “cloak-and-dagger” nature of things that are going on with the company, and while many may not always like the answers we are hearing to our inquires, they deserve to be answered none-the-less. I think the initial steps you all have taken are positive, and moving towards that level of community involvement that made Obsidian Portal so great to begin with.

In closing, I’d like to make a few suggestions. Give the overall situation, I can understand the apprehension and desire for some distance between Obsidian Portal and Kaleidoscope, but I believe that if we truly want to steer this ship back on course, that we need not just one man at the helm, but an entire crew on topside. While a lot of information is available, it is buried in the forums, in blog posts, and in other communications with various users. I suggest getting the record set straight right off the bat.

There needs to be a page explaining the situation, introducing Kaleidoscope, the staff (especially those behind the scenes), a mission statement. A central location or information hub that one can go to see exactly what’s going on with Obsidian Portal. I think this is important not only for your active community members, but for those who may be returning. I would even recommend this being applied to the login landing page as well as being accessible in the site footer links.

“Trust us” just isn’t a viable route to take any longer if you are wanting to build community support and enthusiasm. Most ran out of trust long ago, so it is going to take exerted effort by you and Kaleidoscope if your goal is to earn back the good faith of the broader Obsidian Portal community. Making sure everyone knows what has happened, is happening, and is planned is the first and most important step towards that goal, I believe.

Thanks again for your clear communication, Alex, and your continued effort to repair some of the damage done due to inaction over the years. I have faith in great things for the future of Obsidian Portal, but think the game needs to be stepped up now rather than later.

Yes, we understand. But read the posts above this one, for they hold wisdom.

Consider this question, does the CEO’s post “reset” the “wait and have patience” clock again?

I think we do have patience, and have shown it, and could continue to have it, IF we can be shown actual progress on something/anything along with the communication. Again read the wisdom of those posting above, they are more eloquent than I.

I’ve only been a member here since earlier this year.
I have to say that I love OP, however, I liked it more when the emails were sending correctly.

I’m sure that there are other instances out there that I could use, but I don’t want to move if I can stay here.

Please fix the emails.

After that, I don’t know what was promised to earlier adopters, but please do what you promised them also, but emails first!

I work for a software development company and I know the pain that comes from finding problems in one’s code. The intense troubleshooting that goes with fixing the problems, the countless builds and testing that are required.

We have been promised a fix for the email issue(s) now for several weeks. All of the original post said absolutely nothing about fixing the emails. Firing the developers does not get the email issues resolved and that is causing me and a lot of us many problems with using the site.

If my players can’t get the notifications of new posts, how are they supposed to know what to respond to or look forward to happening?

Mae: consider this. The “everybody” fired wasn’t a large project team of dozens, it was three people (one of which was the previous owner). Three people that all shared responsibility for communication and help tickets, if not actual dev support. Given the complete lack of involvement and communication over the last several months – even from Jerry who people said positive things about at his notice of termination – I can not believe that this was anything but a side project for them anyways. Had they given OP the attention that it (and we) deserved, we wouldn’t have the mess that we have now. Personally, I feel that being let go was the easy route, especially for Micah. Kickstarter has very clear terms regarding meeting committed obligations, and it would have been completely reasonable (and fully supported legally) had the community launched a class-action lawsuit against Micah and any other owners. Delays are inevitable but two years with nearly no progress at all is beyond acceptable. Also consider this. As part of any corporations’ due diligence during an acquisition, they speak to multiple people regarding that which they are purchasing. Given how it seems the entire state of OP, from community support to help ticket management to the codebase, was no where near what they were told, it would also seem logical that all three individuals held back information that was required of them. Based on my business law classes, this could be construed as a breach of contract for not delivering what was communicated. Firing “everyone” is, in my mind, the best option for the previous staff. Frankly, they are lucky (especially Micah) that Kaleidoscope isn’t talking litigation. You are viewing the issue as a kind-hearted manager or coworker, but you are missing the real issue that Kevin and co. have essentially been screwed over on a business deal and must now scramble to make the purchase make sense to what is essentially an investment group – not gamers, not software developers, but investors. From their perspective, the entire situation has changed from what was agreed to. If OP was a car rather than a codebase and an irate community tired of being screwed over as well, Kaleidoscope would be well within their rights to return the car under the lemon laws. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us, it doesn’t work like that with business acquisitions. You want to be angry? By all means, you have every right, just understand that the focus of that anger should be the people that got us in this mess in the first place – Micah and co.

My point may not have been clear enough regarding the “tech team”. The term is incredibly ill-defined, especially considering that Kaleidoscope acquired OP back in January or February IIRC. Are they referring to Micah and co., or are they referring to their own “crack team” that would have been working on it since Micah — and eventually the others — were let go? Or is this referring only to what has happened within the last month since Alex became the new Community Manager?

If it’s the third case, then see my original blog comment. This message came a month late.
If it’s the first or second case, then we have a variety of times when this article would have been more appropriate dating all the way back to the beginning of the year.

So I ask again: Which tech team is the one being referred to by the CEO?

So many things to say, but in taking every mote of myself and pouring it into remaining professional I will only say the following in response to this post:

If anyone ever wants to talk, like sit down and have a beer over an hour or so, maybe if run into me at a con, I’d he happy to discuss with you the *actual* history of the past 5 years of my involvement with Obsidian Portal.

Please bear in mind that I’m only posting here in an attempt to defend my name, my integrity, and the basis of career in community management (which I truly love) because I don’t like false information being spread about me. Cheers, and best of luck! 🙂

When I talked to Alex on Skype I told him that none of the anger is directed at him- and I see even in the angrier comments that Alex is being mentioned in a positive manner- so Thanks to All for that.
I tried to communicate that this has been an issue for years- not days, not weeks, but years! The anger we, the users, especially those that were here pre-reforge, like Justin, are justified. I, like him, have spread the goodness of OP at conventions, and pushed this site publicly. We just want to know what is going on!
I will also quote Justin, who said perfectly, “I commend Jerry for his efforts these past few years, he truly did an amazing job of trying to maintain enthusiasm amidst and seemingly impossible situation, and I’m sure that carried a hefty toll. We understood his plight, and I think most of us recognized the unfortunate position he found himself in as the essential public face of Obsidian Portal…”
Please realize that the anger is justified, and that we really want to know what you have done for the last 7 months, and what will be done, and who will be doing it.

I’m not angry. I’m frustrated. I came to OP long before the reforge, and it became an essential tool to the Campaigns I ran, as well as the ones run my the rest of my group. All of us have spent time praising OP at Cons to other GMs, showing them its potential and how it can make a long term campaign so much easier to run. When I won Campaign of the Month, I was surprised. When I won Campaign of the Year, I was astounded. Then came the Kickstarter. I didn’t see a reason for some of the changes being talked about, but I happily supported the effort.
Then came the reforge. The nightmare of broken sites. I spent weeks fixing my existing pages. And I should have seen the rest coming because we were assured that the reforge would not break existing sites. But, I trudged on and persevered.
Time went by, and no progress was made however. Promises made were not kept, and things got worse.
And now we get this message. Which is all fine and dandy, but, we’ve heard it all before. We don;t need more assurances, we need progress. Alex’s new position is encouraging (if a bit surprising. No offense intended Alex, but you are a fairly new hand round here). With Alex as community Manager, we’re at least getting the semblance of progress and updates.
But its not enough. We’ve been patiently waiting for 2 yrs now, if not longer for some, and deserve respect and transparency as to not only what is being fixed but to the vision and direction the new owners see for OP.
Am I leaving? No. Like I said, OP has become too much a quintessential tool for my campaigns. But, I’m holding back on my recommendations to others to use OP until I know things are moving forward and that OP is not going anywhere.

Yeah, unfortunately with a combination of lack of progress, and many, many weeks of the never-ending 500 errors preventing me from accessing my information consistently (a lot of times holding up active game sessions), I’ve given up on Obsidian Portal and moved on. It was a hard decision to make — after almost a decade of being a dedicated fan — So many great memories and fun times, but there comes a point where a service just isn’t usable anymore. 🙁 From my perspective, OP has officially hit MySpace status. I had just renewed my membership for a year, and then won the T-Shirt contest for a few extra months. Unfortunately, when a third of my attempts to access the site result in a 500 error over and over again, it’s just too much of a frustration.